Turning past the moon gate and artificial mountain, white walls and emerald tiles came into view, with sunlight shining on the plantain leaves in the courtyard, making them gleam brilliantly green.

Yu Ling xi’s paper kite was exquisitely crafted, its bamboo whistle producing beautiful sounds, but unfortunately, it would easily break its string when the wind grew strong, floating away to fall who knows where.

Things beyond one’s control always evoke a mix of love and hate; kites are like this, and so are people.

Ning Yin stopped in his tracks, his gaze drifting toward the caged oriole under the corridor.

In the future, when they left the Yu household, he would have to cage that little Lingxi bird too; she was too captivating, and he couldn’t rest easy otherwise.

Merely caging her wouldn’t be enough; he would need to lock that snow-white ankle with a fine gold chain, making her smile only for him, cooing and warbling sweetly only for him.

Just as he was thinking this, a guard came striding in from the side gate. Seeing Ning Yin, he called out, “Hey, brother!”

Ning Yin ignored him, but the guard, showing poor judgment, raised his voice: “Hey, young brother!”

Ning Yin glanced over, his black eyes containing a hint of frozen impatience.

The guard held his stomach as he moved forward, and with a face turning purple from strain, he awkwardly said, “Urgent need—help me out! Take this urgent report to the study and deliver it directly to the Young General’s hands!”

With those words, he thrust a message tube into Ning Yin’s hands and left.

Ning Yin lowered his gaze to look at the bamboo message tube in his hand.

The bamboo tube was carved with a landscape of mountains and rivers stretching for a thousand miles, with the character “You” engraved at the bottom. The Yu family army guarded the border defenses, and each garrison town had a unique message tube; this one had been sent from Youzhou.

His eyes darkened slightly.

Ning Yin’s lips curved in a smile so faint it was nearly invisible. He placed the message tube behind his back and strolled casually toward the study.

The youth in dark military attire entered the room and said coldly, “Young General, an urgent report from the border.”

“Put it on my desk.”

Yu Huanchen didn’t look at the message tube. His spirited eyes rose from behind the book, vaguely sizing up the extraordinary, upright young man. After a moment he asked, “Your name is…”

He paused, and Ning Yin calmly filled in: “Wei Qi.”

“Oh, Wei Qi.” Yu Huanchen remembered now; that name had been given by his foolish little sister.

“I’ve heard you were once a fighting slave in the Realm of Desire?” he asked.

Ning Yin replied calmly, “Yes.”

“Since you were from the Realm of Desire, why did you conceal your identity?”

Yu Huanchen turned a page in his book, watching the young man’s reaction. “After the Realm of Desire was sealed, all enslaved people were to be drafted for labor service. Don’t you know that escaping privately is a capital offense?”

Ning Yin responded, “I was no longer part of that place before the Realm of Desire was destroyed. Thanks to the Young Lady’s kindness, she took me in at the manor.”

Yu Huanchen fell silent; what he had just said did match the information that Qing Xiao had found.

A person’s identity could be concealed, but their bearing was difficult to erase. Yu Huanchen looked at the handsome young man before him, who was neither servile nor arrogant and appeared harmless, yet somehow gave him the feeling of being looked down upon from on high.

The keen instincts honed on the battlefield made him immediately sense the pressure.

Yu Huanchen simply stood up to meet the young man at eye level and asked, “If that’s the case, how did you fall into the Realm of Desire? How many are in your family? Where is your ancestral home?”

“I don’t remember.”

“You don’t remember?”

“Those who have fallen into the Realm of Desire have no past.”

As he spoke, Ning Yin’s voice lowered slightly, “Does the Young General find me base and lowly, bringing shame to the General’s mansion?”

With him saying this, Yu Huanchen felt it inappropriate to interrogate him too harshly.

“Heroes need not reveal their origins. You saved my sister’s life, so you are naturally an honored guest of the Yu family. But for someone staying in the manor, we need to know a bit about your background, just asking casually.”

But Yu Huanchen knew clearly: even a rootless wandering beggar would leave traces of their existence in the world. Unless their past had been deliberately erased.

And those with such capability were certainly not commoners.

Yet despite having Qing Xiao investigate for over two months, they couldn’t uncover anything about this young man’s life before the age of fourteen. They only knew he had been sold to the Realm of Desire five years ago, becoming a despised fighting slave.

Fighting slaves that young rarely survived for more than two years, yet he had persisted until the night before the Realm of Desire was destroyed, and had escaped from the Duke of Xichuan’s relentless, wheel-like slaughter…

What was strange was that the Duke of Xichuan, brutal and fond of fighting, who previously indulged in arena gambling and selected the strongest fighting slaves to kill, why had he, before his death, repeatedly chosen a frail young man to enter the arena for several consecutive days?

The Realm of Desire was gone, the Duke of Xichuan was dead; everything related to this young man’s past was gradually disappearing.

Combined with recently discovered clues, Yu Huanchen couldn’t help but think more deeply.

In just a brief moment, his thoughts had already gone through several cycles. Smiling like a fox, he said, “Wei Qi, I see your skills are impressive and your abilities extraordinary; being a rear courtyard guard is far beneath your talents. Would you be willing to become my guard, join the Yu family army, and establish merit?”

This was undoubtedly an enticing bait. Ning Yin’s lips moved almost imperceptibly: “I’m grateful for the Young General’s regard, but Wei Qi must decline.”

Yu Huanchen was surprised: “Why?”

If this young man truly had ulterior motives, there was no reason to pass up this opportunity to access military secrets.

“Wei Qi is a humble commoner who doesn’t understand the great principles of family and country.”

Ning Yin lowered his gaze and said softly, “My life was given to me by the Young Lady, and in this lifetime I only wish to repay her kindness like grass that grows or a swallow that returns. If I were to leave, I should first return my life to the Young Lady.”

Yu Huanchen clicked his tongue; even he was moved by such an emotional declaration.

He opened his mouth, but before he could speak, the young man, as if knowing what he was about to say, quietly responded, “The Young General questions these things only out of concern for the Young Lady’s safety; Wei Qi understands completely.”

So Yu Huanchen closed his mouth, looked at him for a good while, then smiled and said, “That’s good then.”

“If there’s nothing else, Wei Qi will take his leave.” With that, the young man gave a salute and left the study.

The desk was piled with stacks of confidential documents, but he hadn’t even glanced at them.

Yu Huanchen picked up the bamboo tube on the desk, opened it to inspect, and found the mechanism inside was intact, with no signs of having been privately opened.

He stroked his chin and stood for a moment, then called out, “Qing Xiao.”

The tall, taciturn guard entered upon hearing his voice and saluted, “Young General.”

Yu Huanchen poured out the secret letter from the bamboo tube and asked, “This letter, he truly didn’t tamper with it?”

Qing Xiao replied, “Young General, I watched him the entire way and indeed did not see him do anything suspicious.”

“That’s strange.” Yu Huanchen murmured, raising his hand to dismiss Qing Xiao.

If this young man was not blindly loyal, then he must be a schemer with extremely deep cunning.

He sat back in his chair, thinking to himself: what exactly is this creature my sister picked up, a ghost or a Buddha?

Ning Yin walked out of the study, passed through the courtyard and long corridor, and narrowed his eyes.

Among the military officers, Yu Huanchen was considered quick-witted. The information he possessed must be far more than what he had asked about.

“Suspicious, huh?”

Ning Yin gave a low snort, not particularly surprised.

It seemed he needed to add more fuel to the fire from the palace side as well.

The sound of wings cutting through the air came from the roof ridge, casting a shadow as it passed through the sunlight.

A quarter of an hour later, the call of a peddler shaking a rattle drum came from the back alley.

…

After leaving the Yu mansion, Xue Cen did not immediately depart.

He sat in his carriage, deep in thought for a long time.

Since childhood, his grandfather had taught him to restrain himself, to be polite, and to avoid arrogance and impatience. Only when alone would his clear, refined face reveal traces of his heavy thoughts.

Xue Cen knew that the Yu family had a simple and pure family style, without many constraints of rank and status, but the image of the black-clad youth holding an umbrella for the Second Young Lady at Golden Cloud Temple’s bamboo path, as well as the harmonious scene of them flying kites side by side at the waterside pavilion just now, made him feel deeply concerned.

Previously, when rumors about the Second Young Lady circulated, Xue Cen had never taken them to heart, because he believed that their childhood friendship of ten years was enough to break through all gossip.

Now, however, he could not hide his anxiety.

That young man’s appearance was indeed extremely good—handsome like uncut jade, with a bearing unlike a guard’s, more like a pampered prince or noble. But he always felt that the young man’s eyes were too dark and cold, emanating a somewhat evil aura.

Xue Cen did not blame Yu Lingxi.

Young girls had not yet settled their character and could easily be deceived by pretty words.

The Yu family valued emotions and righteousness and respected that young man more because of the spring hunt favor. But that young man was not upright, failing to keep his place as a servant and often overstepping his bounds.

Since that was the case, if the Yu family found it inconvenient to speak up, he would do so on their behalf today.

Just as he was thinking this, the servant boy crouching outside the carriage tapped on the carriage wall and whispered, “Second Young Master, that guard has come out.”

Xue Cen came to his senses and lifted the carriage curtain to look.

He saw a peddler selling snacks coming along shaking a rattle drum, and the young man came out upon hearing it, expertly buying a package of candy.

Xue Cen got out of the carriage, carefully straightened his robes, and then said, “Follow him.”

The peddler continued to call out as he moved away with his carrying pole, the copper coins in the drawer of his goods box jingling, as he passed by the elegant young master in fine clothes and jade ornaments.

Ning Yin bought the candy but was in no hurry to return to the manor.

A glance from his eyes—from two zhang away behind him came the delicate sound of jade pendants, as if afraid he wouldn’t know someone was following him.

Ning Yin’s lips curled slightly as he took a piece of candy and placed it in his mouth, chewing slowly, ignoring the footsteps behind him.

Turning the corner, his figure disappeared.

Xue Cen’s servant boy hurriedly caught up, looking at the empty intersection of alleys, and asked in puzzlement, “Young Master, where did he go?”

Xue Cen was also confused. Before he could react, there was a thud behind him.

Turning to look, he saw that the servant boy who had just been speaking with him now lay sideways on the ground like a dead man.

And that handsome but sinister youth in military attire had appeared from nowhere, standing casually behind the unconscious servant boy, holding a package of candy wrapped in oiled paper.

Xue Cen was startled: “Why did you harm my servant?”

Ning Yin laughed, saying lightly, “I thought it was a villain following me, and accidentally made a mistake. I’m truly sorry.”

Though his mouth said “sorry,” his eyes were ice-cold, without the slightest trace of apology.

Xue Cen watched as the young man stepped over the servant boy, who was pressed down and then flopped back up as the foot passed, his eyes rolled back showing the whites, a clear footprint left on his chest.

Ning Yin drew out a smile that could hardly be called a smile, and said languidly, “They say Xue Second Young Master is as clear as wind dispersing clouds, so why are you engaging in the behavior of a thief following people?”

For some reason, Xue Cen felt a chill run down his spine.

He steadied himself, summoning the cultivation of the Prime Minister’s grandson, and said clearly, “It was not following. I’ve been waiting here specifically to speak with you.”

The young man’s eyes were dark, looking at him as if viewing an ant about to be trampled.

When had Xue Cen ever been disregarded like this?

With furrowed brows, he said seriously, “By rights, you are a servant of the Yu household, and these words should not be mine to remind you…”

Ning Yin laughed, “Since you know it’s ‘not yours,’ why waste words?”

“You!”

Xue Cen mentally exclaimed, “How crude.” How could the second sister show such favor to such a rude and presumptuous fellow?

“If that’s the case, let me speak directly.”

Xue Cen clenched his fist secretly and raised his eyes to say loudly, “A gentleman does not commit improper acts. For the Second Sister’s good, I hope you can stay away from her.”

Ning Yin didn’t even look at him, continuing to walk past him without stopping.

Xue Cen’s brows furrowed even more tightly, raising his voice, “I don’t look down on you, but the difference in social status is right before our eyes. Second Sister is naive by nature, and a momentary curiosity is normal, but you must understand that she cannot possibly lower herself from the position of a General’s daughter to marry a fighting slave with unclear origins who escaped from the Realm of Desire!”

Ning Yin paused slightly, turning around, his black eyes as cold as ice.

This fool, he dared to investigate him?

Xue Cen thought he had hit the mark, making him wary, and became even more confident: “Second Sister grew up surrounded by admirers, in silks and jewels. Do you know how long you would have to labor to afford one of her hairpins or a set of her clothes? The difference in backgrounds is like heaven and earth, the gap of propriety cannot be crossed. You can only hurt her and gain nothing. Please maintain your servant’s place and don’t…”

“Satisfy your desires, yet ask me to be the gentleman, to facilitate others’ happiness.”

Ning Yin laughed, asking in a measured voice, “Do you also use such hypocritical excuses when you kill people?”

Xue Cen was stunned, angered to the point that his neck turned red: “What are you saying? The Xue family has a hundred years of good reputation, how dare you slander us!”

“Good reputation?” Ning Yin reacted as if he had heard the biggest joke.

He unhurriedly folded the oiled paper package of candy, his lowered eyelashes casting a shadow, and said softly, “In that case, let me give you a chance to choose, how about that?”